galette

It’s fig season here in the Northeastern U.S., and if you don’t have your own fig, there are plenty of markets selling different varieties of these luscious fruits. I had about a dozen that were ready to eat and decided to make a free-form crostata for dessert, poaching the figs first in port wine, honey and cinnamon. They’re delicious poached in red wine too, but if you have port wine, it’s a perfect match accompaniment to figs.

The figs become a little moister after poaching, which could make the pastry soggy, so I scattered a layer of sliced almonds as a bed for the figs, to act as a barrier and also give more texture and flavor.

Drain the figs from the poaching liquid and place them carefully over the almonds.

Gather the pastry around the edges, pinching to form a border. Brush with beaten egg, or some milk.

After it comes out of the oven, spread some of the reduced glaze over the top.

It’s delicious just as is, but a bit of ice cream always makes things better.

Bring the Port wine, honey, sugar and cinnamon stick to a boil in a saucepan.

Lower the heat and add the figs. Let the figs simmer for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how ripe the figs are.

Don't let them poach so long that they lose shape.

Drain the figs and set aside.

Meanwhile, turn the heat to high and let the Port wine mixture reduce to about half or until about the consistency of honey.

Don't forget the solution will be runnier when it's hot, but thickens when cooled.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor, until it resembles coarse sand. Add the ice water until it starts to hold together. Bring it out onto a board and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball, wrap in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for about a half hour to an hour.

Remove from refrigerator and roll over a floured surface to a circle with a circumference of about 10-12 inches.

Scatter the almonds over the center of the dough, leaving a border of about two inches.

Place the poached figs over the almonds, then fold the pastry over the figs, pinching toward the edges to form a border.

Brush the border with either beaten egg, or milk.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until browned.

Remove from oven, and brush the reduced port wine glaze over the figs.

If the glaze is too thick, put it back on the heat for a few minutes, adding a bit of water if necessary.

Keep your strawberries, your apples, your kiwi, your plums. If I had to choose only one fruit to eat for the rest of my life, it would be peaches — fresh summer peaches from a local orchard. Peaches that are juicy, fragrant and oozing with sweetness. The trouble is, that goodness is available for only a short time longer here in the Northeast U.S. So I’m taking full advantage of the rest of the season and eating them every chance I can get in any form I can get – stuffed and grilled, poached in a sugar syrup, or as ice cream or sorbet. Peach pie is also a favorite, but these individual crostatas are a lot easier to make and taste even better. There’s no worry about soggy crusts or gloppy, thick filling from too much flour or cornstarch. The filling is nothing more than peaches and brown sugar. Purists, feel free to eliminate the blueberries and load up on more peaches, if you like.

Roll out the dough until it’s thin – not paper thin, but less than 1/4 inch thin. This recipe makes four individual crostatas (actually crostate is the plural, if you want your Italian lesson for the day).

Fill them with the blueberry and peach mixture and gather the edges toward the center. Brush with an egg wash.

Bake at 400 degrees on a low oven rack and after about 20 minutes, you’ll have a gurgling fruity delight to serve. Don’t worry if some blueberry or peach juices escape. If you’re using a Silpat mat, you’ll be able to easily wipe it off. Otherwise, place a sheet of parchment on your baking pan first.

Eat it warm or let it cool. Either way, it’ll be hard to resist this dessert.
Bring on the peaches while they last!

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor, until it resembles coarse sand. Add the ice water until it starts to hold together. Bring it out onto a board and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball, then cut into four pieces. Roll out each piece until it’s very thin (less than 1/4 inch) and about eight inches in diameter. Mix the sliced peaches, blueberries and brown sugar and place on the center of the four pieces of pastry, on a parchment lined or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bring the outer edges toward the center and brush with a little of the beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned on the outside.

Last week I promised you this recipe, courtesy of my friend Jan who brought it for dessert recently following our dinner of stuffed shells. It was warm and beautiful. I wish I had thought to take a photo of the entire thing before we sliced into it, but one can only resist so much temptation. You can call it a galette, a croustade, a crostata or even an open-face pie. But whatever you call it, call it fantastic.

Jan used dried cranberries and dried cherries, but if you don’t have both, you can substitute more of one or the other. Eat this warm topped with a scoop of ice cream, and it could become your go-to dessert.

Whisk flour, sugar, lemon peel, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; using pastry cutter, blend butter with flour mixture until coarse meal forms. Drizzle 1/4 cream over; toss with fork until moist clumps form adding more cream by teaspoonfuls as needed if dry. I added 2 more teaspoons. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. You may do this a day ahead. In that case, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out.

In my last life, I was a journalist in NYC, but left the rat race to live in Italy for a year. I created this blog upon my return to combine my interests of writing and photography with my love of food and travel. Read more about me here...

In my last life, I was a journalist in NYC, but left the rat race to live in Italy for a year. I created this blog upon my return to combine my interests of writing and photography with my love of food and travel. Read more about me here...